Dr. Sarah Neumann and I hosted a field trip to the Cross Creek Experimental Watershed in Franklin State Forest to tour the USDA-funded research we are conducting and share what we have learned so far about the ecology of Plateau upland forests. Afterwards we had lunch at Sewanee and held a roundtable discussion on how science can best inform current and future forest management at Franklin State Forest. Our research at the Cross Creek Experimental Watershed in Franklin State Forest is centered around the importance of plant-soil interactions, specifically the role of mycorrhizae in determining tree composition in this system. The discussion highlighted the important role that soil processes play in maintaining biodiversity in this forest.
Participating Organizations and Representatives:
The University of the South, Department of Biology
Jon Evans, Professor and Co-PI, USDA Forest Research Grant
Rob Phillips, Undergraduate working with Dr. Evans
Nneka Okolo, Undergraduate working with Dr. Evans
JT Michel, Undergraduate working with Dr. Evans
Keegan Congleton, Undergraduate working with Dr. Evans
Tennessee State University, Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
Sarah Neumann, Assistant Professor and PI, USDA Forest Research Grant
Tennessee Division of Forestry
David Arnold, State Forester
Heather Slayton, Assistant State Forester
Dwayne Turner, District Forester
Daniel Nielsen, State Forest Forester (Franklin and Bledsoe State Forests)
Tennessee Division of Environment and Conservation, South Cumberland State Park
Jason Reynolds, Park Ranger
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tennessee Ecological Services Field Office
Geoff Call, Supervisory Biologist
Center for Biological Diversity
Perrin de Jong, Southeast Staff Attorney
Southern Environmental Law Center
George Nolan, Director - Tennessee Office
The Sierra Club
David Hoot, Chair - Cherokee Group
Tennessee Heartwood
Davis Mounger,
Sheryl Campbell
